BeBe Live and Up Close (CD - 2002)

Personnel: Bebe Winans (vocals); Stephanie Mills, Debra Winians Lowe, Magarett Bell Byars (vocals); Allen Hinds (guitar); Tollack Ollestad (harmonica, keyboards); Herman Jackson, Kim Hanson (keyboards); Sekou Bunch (bass); Ricky Lawson (drums); Kevin Ricard (percussion); Chris Rakestraw (programming); Lynette Dupre, Natalie Reiter, Bianca Lea Talyor, Lynne Fiddmont Linsey, Eric Dawkins, Sean Dancy, Byron Cage, Timothy Fowkes (background vocals).

Producers: Kedar Massenburg, Evan Landberg, BeBe Winans.

Recorded at BET Studios, Washington, DC.

LIVE AND UP CLOSE was nominated for the 2003 Grammy Awards for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album.

Massively popular black gospel vocalist BeBe Winans followed up his first two solo albums with a live album, BeBe Live and Up Close, released in 2002. The album features several songs that don't appear on Winans' solo albums, including the album-opening "Do You Know Him" as well as other songs like "I Believe," "Love Thing," and "Humpty Dumpty." These songs make BeBe Live and Up Close somewhat more than just another live album. While most live albums tend to have a function similar to best-ofs, this one features few of Winans' best-known songs in favor of previously unreleased songs. Therefore, ardent fans should consider treating BeBe Live and Up Close just like another studio album, since many of the featured songs are exclusive to this album. However, there are some of Winans' more popular songs here, such as the 15-minute medley featuring Debra Winans Lowe, BeBe's sister. The medley includes four songs from BeBe's days with CeCe: "Heaven," "Meantime," "Celebrate New Life," and "Lost Without You." In addition, BeBe Live and Up Close ends climactically when Stephanie Mills joins Winans for a performance of "Born for This." Overall, this isn't the career-spanning best-of live performance that you might expect from someone with as much success as Winans, but rather it's a mixed bag, featuring new songs as well as old songs but not too many popular songs, leaving room instead for the less familiar material. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Whether recording as part of the Winans group or with CeCe Winans as a duet, BeBe Winans has proven eminently capable of playing his role well in collaborations, but it's on his own that the contemporary gospel star truly displays all the multiple facets of his musical personality. BEBE LIVE AND UP CLOSE, as the title implies, offers as good a look at what makes BeBe's music tick as you're likely to get. There's the mellow, balladic, pop-tinged tones of "I Feel in Love With God," the churning gospel soul of "Love & Freedom," the very modern-sounding, synth-flavored R&B of the opening cut "Do You Know Him," and more. Winans even finds a way to give a fresh delivery to an old gospel warhorse like "Amazing Grace," making the listener feel as if they're hearing the old chestnut for the first time. That's the kind of gift that Winans possesses, and LIVE AND UP CLOSE affords the opportunity to witness the singer's magic in action. minimize